Couple of interesting things on Tim Torrance's Hydro Show on WORX radio this week:

ABRA's SAM COLE said not only is he optimistic about the future and adding more sites, he's confident it will happen as early as 2008. "I think you'll see a new site or two next year," said Cole.

U-100 MIRAGEBOATS.COM DRIVER GREG HOPP did a little more than hint about a new boat. Hopp said "I hope we're going to build a new one over the winter." MirageBoats.com signed on as a multi-year sponsor this year. Hopp said he's optimistic they'll continue on. And that may pave the way for a new one. "Hopefully, get a new boat for next year," he said.

The Milling Period: Mike Webster talks about his plans for a 2008 launch of the U-28 Unlimited Hydroplane... a turbine update of the old U-3 Master Tire.

NOTE: I was having audio problems with some of the video shot in Evansville, so I posted it here instead of directly at HydroInsider.com. It's still a little low for the interview, but I can listen to it.

HydroInsider.com will be providing LIVE STREAMING AUDIO of the final Unlimited Hydroplane race for 2007 in San Diego. We'll be patched into the P.A. system and you'll be able to access the stream here.

Thanks to Steve Montgomery, who will be handling P.A. duties at San Diego and Sue in the Bayfair office, for making it happen.

Photo from Seafair shows U-10 and U-37 bumping in Heat 2A. Picture's especially interesting because the U-37's engine just blew, which caused the bump. Owen Blauman caught the split-second after it happened. Note the black smoke coming out of the U-37's tail.

Steve Montgomery & Mark Allen will be doing the play-by-play on the P.A. system for the San Diego races. Steve is working on turning it into a live stream. If that happens, we'll be re-broadcasting here at HydoInsider.com.

Before the season, Nate Brown told us the plan was "Race in Tri-Cities. Race in Seattle. Then hang it up." The boat wasn't quite ready for Tri-Cities, but Nate ran strong in Seattle - topping 143 mph right out-of-the-box and placing second in the provisional heat. Now, he's officially retired and turning over the driving duties to nephew, Kip Brown.

Cool deal here from NWSPEEDSHOTS. They put two cameras on board the U-13 during the final race at Seafair. One pointed back at J. Michael Kelly and another mounted on the tail looking forward. Then, they combined the two cameras and timed them up. So you get to see JMK and what he sees at the same time.

Villwock said Theroret came in on him right before the race start and "hosed him down" causing his engine to stop. He had to re-start. Still, he gave Steve David a hug and congratulated him on the team's first win in the new U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto.

That Heat 2B finish between U-10 & U-6 was within three-tenths of a second. How close was it? Look at the two camera angles from KIRO-TV's broadcast. In one, it appears Bryant wins... in the other, it appears U-6. Wow.

Without a Heat 3C, it makes it tough for Jean Theoret and U-37 Beacon Plumbing, who got zero points yesterday after a DNF in Heat 1A.

From ABRA: The Chevrolet Cup at Seafair makes the first two elimination heats extremely important for the unlimited hydroplane teams as the points awarded within them makes entry into heats 3A and 3B possible. Only the top 12 boats after the first two sets will be permitted to move on. After the third grouping, the top six boats will be entered into the final.Photo: Jean Theoret inspects the damage after Heat 1A on Saturday.

News Tribune: “You’re upside-down. You can see a little bit of light from the sun, and the cabin fills up (with water) really quick,” Chris Bertram said. “Initially, you’re a little excited. Then you calm yourself down and breathe."

How much alcohol do you have to drink to put yourself into an actual coma?!?Seattle PI: A Bellingham woman consumed so much alcohol on a boat during Saturday's Seafair festival that she went into a coma and more than 130 people were cited for alcohol offenses over the last two days, a Washington State Patrol spokesman said.http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/326437_blue05.html?source=mypi

We have added a new section to HydroInsider.com - we've got video clips from 10 different on-board cameras on the U-10, U-16, U-37 and the vintage boats for this year's Columbia Cup. Really cool video.

U10 & U37 bumped. U37 has hole and took on water. U10 given a one-lap penalty for collision with U37, but that was later over-ruled when officials looked at video and decided Jean Theoret in U-37 encroached on U10, causing the collision.

The U-787 was on display at the Hydroplane Museum last night, for their annual Gala Banquet and Auction. All those in attendance recieved a 1/64 th scale model of the hydroplane.

Over $50,000 was raised in the live auction, and thousands more after the silent auction was added to the total. One of the items auctioned was a Blue & Black leather "Bomber" jacket with the U-787 picture & logo emblazened on the front & back.

Bill Boeing Jr. and Sven Ellstrom were seen discussing the possibility of running the boat prior to racing on Sunday 8/5 in an exhibition lap or two.

Just added some additional on-board videos that were shot with cameras clipped onto the U-37 Beacon Plumbing, U-13 Spirit of Detroit, and U-10 Hoss Mortgage Investors in the Tri-Cities last weekend. Announcers Steve Montgomery and Mark Allen watch the video with viewers and walk us through what's going on.

In the U-37 video, we're on the left side of the cockpit. In the U-13, the camera is mounted on the tail. In the U-10, it's mounted on the right side of the cockpit. Three unique perspectives at 200 mph!

Faith, family and hydroplanes help Jennifer Willette heal the scarsGreat story from the Madison Courier on Jennifer Wilette's recovery. She's the woman in the crowd at the Madison Regatta last year that nearly died when hit by a car that ran into the crowd.

If you're driving in to Seattle to watch the races, remember the bridges over I-90 are closed at time because of the Blue Angels air show.... and there is an afternoon Mariners (1pm) on Sunday to add to traffic.

Dept. of Transportation will close all lanes of I-90 between I-5 and Island Crest Way - Saturday & Sunday closures are from 12:45 p.m. to 2:40 p.m.

As I mentioned on HydroInsider.com, I will not be at Seafair this weekend. The person who was to fill in for me had a family emergency and will not be attending... so I need some help. If you're there and have info, pictures or video and you're willing to share it with the group, email me and I will post it (and give you credit).

If you have big files, drop me an email and I will give you the info for the ftp site to upload.